United Nations helicopter crashes in South Sudan, killing three crew; Russian owner claims helicopter shot down

Wed 27 Aug 2014, 11:17 AM AEST

Three people died when a United Nations peacekeeping helicopter crashed in South Sudan on Wednesday, with Russian airline UTair, which owns the aircraft, claiming it was shot down.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) lost contact with an Mi-8 cargo helicopter late yesterday after it went down about 10 kilometres south of Bentiu, the capital of the oil-rich Unity State in the country's north.

"According to preliminary information, the helicopter was shot down with surface-to-air fire," UTair said in a statement.

The UN confirmed three of the four Russian crew members were killed, but had no immediate comment on reports the helicopter, which was on a routine cargo flight from the south-western town of Wau to Bentiu, had been shot down.

The only survivor, the second pilot, was taken to a Medicins Sans Frontieres hospital with minor injuries and UTair, which said it has been working with the United Nations since 1991, said it will temporarily halt flying over the area.

UNMISS, set up after South Sudan gained independence in 2011, sent an investigative team to the crash site.

If claims the helicopter was attacked are true, it marks a significant escalation in the civil conflict.

Despite two ceasefire pacts, soldiers loyal to president Salva Kiir and troops backing former deputy president Riek Machar have frequently clashed in Unity State as they battle to control vital oil fields

At least 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which has driven the nation to the brink of a "man-made" famine.

The rebel delegation at peace talks in Ethiopia issued a statement denying what it said was South Sudanese government accusations that rebel forces brought down the helicopter.

"The area in which the (aircraft) was reportedly shot down is government-held territory, if indeed the aircraft was shot down," the rebel statement said.

Peace talks in Ethiopia have made little progress. The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on commanders from both sides and regional African states sponsoring negotiations have threatened punitive measures against those impeding talks, but to little avail.

Initially established to protect civilians as well as carry out other state-building work, the UNMISS peacekeepers were authorised by the UN Security Council in May to focus on protecting civilians and backed the use of force.

UNMISS has an approved strength of up to 12,500 military personnel and more than 1,300 civilian police personnel.